vSphere Client

Troubleshooting vSphere Client Timeouts: “The remote server took too long to respond” | Lazy Admin Blog

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If you are seeing the error “The request failed because the remote server [vCenter Name/IP] took too long to respond” specifically when checking the Storage View of a VM or Datacenter, you are likely hitting a timeout related to Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication latency.

🛠️ The Quick Fix: Manual Login

The most common trigger for this timeout is using the “Use Windows Session Credentials” checkbox during login. While convenient, this pass-through method often fails to communicate efficiently with SSO when complex domain trusts are involved.

To solve this immediately:

  1. Log out of the vSphere client.
  2. Manually type your username (e.g., domain\user or user@domain.com) and password.
  3. Do not check the “Use Windows Session Credentials” box.

🏗️ The Permanent Fix: Identity Source Configuration

If manual login works but you want to restore the functionality of session credentials, the issue lies in how vCenter communicates with your external domains.

1. Adding External Domains

Ensure your Active Directory or LDAP identity sources are correctly configured. Refer to VMware KB 2035510 for the specific procedure on adding external domains to the SSO identity sources.

2. Default Domain Order

Even if a domain is added, if it is low on the priority list, the search request may time out before finding the user.

  • Log into the vSphere Web Client as an SSO Administrator (administrator@vsphere.local).
  • Navigate to Administration > Single Sign-On > Configuration.
  • Go to the Identity Sources tab.
  • Add your trusted domains to the Default Domains list.
  • Reorder the domains: Move your most frequently used production domain to the top of the list.
  • Save the configuration.

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Monitoring Disk Command Aborts on ESXi: Identifying Storage Overload | Lazy Admin Blog

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When your storage subsystem is severely overloaded, it cannot process commands within the acceptable timeframe defined by the Guest Operating System. The result? Disk Command Aborts. For Windows VMs, this usually triggers after 60 seconds of silence from the storage array.

Aborted commands are a critical red flag indicating that your storage hardware is overwhelmed and unable to meet the host’s performance expectations. Monitoring this parameter is essential for proactive datacenter management.

Here is how you can track these aborts using two primary methods: the vSphere Client and esxtop.

💻 Method 1: vSphere Client (Graphical Interface)

This method provides a visual, historical look at command aborts across your infrastructure.

  1. Navigate to Hosts and Clusters.
  2. Select the object you want to monitor (Host or Cluster).
  3. Click on the Monitor tab, then Performance, and select Advanced.
  4. Click Chart Options.
  5. Switch the metric grouping to Disk.
  6. Select Commands aborted from the list of measurements.
  7. Click OK.

🛠️ Method 2: esxtop (Command Line Interface)

For real-time, granular troubleshooting, esxtop is the definitive tool. It monitors the ABRTS/s (Aborts per Second) field, specifically tracking SCSI aborts.

Steps to Configure esxtop for Aborts:

  1. Open Putty and log in to your ESXi host via SSH.
  2. Type esxtop and press Enter.
  3. Type u to switch to the Disk Device view.
  4. Type f to change the field settings.
  5. Type L to select Error stats.
  6. Press Enter, then press W to save these settings for future sessions.

You will now see the ABRTS/s column. This number represents the SCSI commands aborted by the guest VM during the 1-second collection interval.

📈 Thresholds and Interpretation

If you are deploying a monitoring tool, the critical threshold for ABRTS/s is 1. A value of 1 or higher means SCSI commands are actively being aborted by the guest OS because the storage is not responding.

What is Ideal?

In an ideal scenario, ABRTS/s should always be 0.

What is Real-World?

In a busy production environment, you may see this value fluctuate between 0 and 0.xx. This occurs during “peak hours”—for instance, when multiple servers on the host are running disk-intensive backup operations simultaneously, leading to temporary storage saturation. However, any consistent spike above 1 requires immediate investigation into path failures, array congestion, or complete storage unresponsiveness.

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Fix vCenter Performance Overview Error: “Navigation to the webpage was cancelled” (1014454)

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If your Performance Overview tab is showing a blank screen or a “navigation cancelled” error, it usually means the vSphere Client can’t reach the underlying stats reporting service. This often happens after a DNS change, an upgrade, or when a third-party app steals a required port.

Follow these troubleshooting steps in order to restore your performance charts.

Step 1: Check the vCenter Web Management Service

The performance tab isn’t part of the core vCenter service; it runs on a separate web management service.

  • Log into the vCenter Server.
  • Open Services.msc.
  • Verify that VMware VirtualCenter Management Webservices is started. If it is, try restarting it.

Step 2: Bypass DNS (The .xml Edit)

If vCenter is having trouble resolving its own FQDN, the Performance tab will fail to load.

  1. Navigate to: C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\extensions\com.vmware.vim.stats.report\
  2. Open extension.xml in a text editor (as Administrator).
  3. Locate the line: <url>https://vcenter-hostname:8443/statsreport/vicr.do</url>
  4. Change the hostname to the Static IP address of your vCenter server.
  5. Restart the vCenter Web Management Service.

Step 3: Check for Port Conflicts (Port 8443)

Performance Overview uses port 8443. Sometimes other web services (like IIS or Apache) grab this port first.

  • The Test: Stop the “VMware VirtualCenter Management Webservices.”
  • Open Command Prompt and run: telnet <vCenter-IP> 8443
  • The Result: If the port responds while the VMware service is stopped, another application is interfering. You will need to identify that app or change the vCenter web port.

Step 4: Browser & Proxy Settings

The vSphere client uses the local Internet Explorer engine to render the performance tab.

  1. Open Internet Options on your workstation.
  2. Go to the Connections tab > LAN Settings.
  3. Uncheck Use automatic configuration script and Proxy server.
  4. If the issue is only happening on external workstations, ensure the Windows Firewall on the vCenter server is allowing traffic on port 8443.

#VMware #vSphere #vCenter #SysAdmin #Virtualization #Troubleshooting #DataCenter #TechTips #LazyAdmin #CloudAdmin #ITPro

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Fixed: The VMRC Console has Disconnected (Error 2050470)

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It’s a frustrating scenario: you go to check a virtual machine, and instead of a login screen, you get a black box with the message: “The VMRC Console has Disconnected… Trying to reconnect.” To make matters worse, the VM often appears unreachable on the network, leading you to believe the Guest OS has blue-screened or frozen. However, the issue is frequently just a hang-up in the VMware Remote Console (VMRC) process on your local management workstation.

The Quick Fix

You do not need to restart the VM or the ESXi host. Usually, the “stuck” process is living right on your own PC.

  1. Open Task Manager: Right-click your taskbar and select Task Manager (or press Ctrl + Shift + Esc).
  2. Find the Process: Go to the Processes or Details tab.
  3. Kill VMRC: Look for vmware-vmrc.exe (or vmware-vmrc.exe*32 on older systems).
  4. End Task: Right-click the process and select End Task.
  5. Relaunch: Go back to your vSphere Client and attempt to open the console again.

Why does this happen?

This error usually occurs when the VMRC process loses its handshake with the ESXi host but fails to terminate properly. By killing the process, you force a fresh authentication and network handshake, which typically restores the video feed immediately.

What if the VM is still “Black Screened”?

If killing the local process doesn’t work and the VM is still unreachable via ping/RDP, the issue might be on the host side:

  • Check the Hostd Service: Sometimes the management agent on the ESXi host needs a restart.
  • Video Memory: Ensure the VM has enough Video RAM allocated in its “Edit Settings” menu to support the resolution you are using.

#VMware #vSphere #VMRC #SysAdmin #ITPro #Virtualization #TechSupport #LazyAdmin #ServerAdmin #WindowsTroubleshooting

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